Incendiary
by StardustIsMagic
Summary: Vesper Kovalevski wasn't a particularly memorable girl, nor did she do anything of significance in life; an orphaned barmaid in Moscow, that was as exciting as life would get for her. But that night, that one night turned her life upside down, changing in ways she would never think of in her dreams … or in this case; nightmares. Pre-TDKR. Bane/OC.
1. Crumbling

"_They Say She's In The Class A-Team, Stuck In Her Day Dream, Been This Way Since Eighteen But Lately Her Face Seems, Slowly Sinking Wasting, Crumbling Like Pastry, And They Scream The Worst Things In Life Come Free To Us." – Ed Sheeran; A-Team._

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Vesper Kovalevski wasn't a particularly memorable girl, nor did she do anything of significance in life; in fact when asked what was most interesting about her, she was most likely to reply with her late mother once working in a brothel. Growing up in a rather rough area of Moscow and a school drop out, she wasn't the most educated either; she was, for lack of better words, inconsequential.

Being the product of an accidental pregnancy, due to her mother's job, she hadn't ever known her father either. Upon the time of her mother's death she had been sixteen, and already working in a bar across the street of her mother's work place as a glass collector. Vesper was simply just a prime example of unfortunate upbringing, troubled children with unpleasant pasts.

It was simply dumb luck that Vesper had been given a roof to sleep under once her mother died, the couple that had owned said bar were British and middle-aged, and had been on fairly good speaking terms with Vesper's mother. Each business helping the other in terms of customers, and had been given the small one bedroom apartment on top of the bar in exchange for working there full-time, this was after she had lost her home due to not being able to afford staying there.

Yes, Vesper Kovalevski was just like many of the teenagers in Moscow, she hadn't expected life to be any more different or exciting than that, you simply did what you had to do to get by.

Over the next six years life was still the same recurring cycle, still working in the same bar, still serving the same plump pop bellied male customers, still playing out dated music, still living in a dingy one bedroom apartment. Not that Vesper had necessarily ever complained, in fact Vesper would most likely consider herself lucky to have even that much, being a relatively quite and softly spoken girl, she had never ventured out of what she knew. She worked hard and that was that.

Dark blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders with over grown bangs, mostly due to the fact she didn't have the money to get a haircut frequently, and dark blue eyes that constantly made some wonder what she was thinking should they stare for too long. Pink plump full lips and a button nose, a small frame and at the short height of 5'5, the girl had been an exact replica of her mother, whose age had shown quickly due to her drinking and drug abuse.

Vesper wasn't ashamed of that fact, mostly because she didn't know anything else, it was a common profession in Moscow and she was surrounded by women who worked as one.

But that was it. That was what her life consisted of, the closest she would get to exciting, or so she had thought. Moscow was known for its crime rate, not that it was particularly dangerous, but there was a lot of under ground dealings, rogue cops and Russian mobs. It had never worried Vesper, because she was used to it, street smart in a sense. But that night, that one night when she was left alone to lock up the bar, in the early hours of the morning when the brothel was still in full swing, she was oblivious and unprepared for the happenings that would occur.

Vesper Kovalevski's life was about to take a turn into the unknown and dangerous, changing her life in ways she would never think of in her dreams … or in this case; nightmares.

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**Yes, yes so a new story … I couldn't get the plot for this out of my head … ever since I had seen TDKR, which I'd seen four times XD I've grown a strange obsession with Bane, beside the fact Tom Hardy is insanely attractive, I also loved Christopher Nolan's accuracy with Bane from the comic books, whilst adding on his own interpretation of him … so it'll be a dark fic, as you've guessed … this is just a prologue, a test run if you will that I wanted to get out … hope you enjoy it and the first official chapter should be out fairly soony ^_^**


	2. Puppet

"_Revolutionaries Wait For My Head On A Silver Plate, Just A Puppet On A Silver String, Oh Who Would Ever Want To Be King?" – Coldplay; Viva La Vida._

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Thursday night was often quite at the Macintyre's bar, which was why Vesper was usually left in charge, only two young glass collectors there with her. It was known as the evening of rest for most drinkers and party goers before the rush begun once again from Friday, and there were only the odd couple of regulars who sat in their respective corners keeping to themselves.

Tonight was no normal Thursday night however, the usual low volume of music was now blasting through the entire space of the bar, filled to the brim with middle-aged men she had never seen in her life. Each one dressed in bland coloured combat trousers, jackets suited for the cold harsh weather of Russia, yet none of them appeared to be Russian. The bar was burning with life and chatter from each young man, some chanting in a group in a language she did not understand, others enjoying the company of the women on their lap from across the street.

Vesper practically hurried from one side of the bar to the other, attempting to serve every single man demanding another shot, as if they weren't completely under the influence of alcohol as it was.

She was scruffily dressed in a faded red plaid shirt, practically two sizes too big for her, rolled to her elbows as to not get in her way, along with worn skinny jeans and beat up converse, her dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a bun that was now releasing strands of hair around her face. She briefly looked to a group of certain men at the bar, the only three who seemed to be remotely sober and managing to have a discreet conversation, even through all this noise, and sipped on their beer bottles slowly.

The entire group of men seemed to be a mix of all races, Vesper noted that some only spoke Turkish, others Arabic, and some English, and she wondered for a moment whether they belonged in some form of army group, solely because of their clothing, and the rifles they kept slung around their shoulders.

Guns didn't scare Vesper; many men came in with guns in this area, belonging to some mob or simply because of protection. Demetrius, one of the glass collectors approached the bar, handing all the empty glasses to her, the young teen smiled weakly at her while wiping sweat off his forehead, his dark hair matted from all the rushing around.

"Miss? Another beer please?"

Vesper nodded, putting the dirty glasses into the sink behind her and letting the water run briefly, fetching a beer bottle from the small fridge, popping it open and placing it in front of the man.

"Thank you," she smiled at the man quickly, noting his English accent, yet had dark features, olive coloured skin, dark hair, and brown eyes, wondering if he possibly originated from the Middle East.

The bar itself was located at the very back, going from one end to another, grey tables and chairs scattered around should people sit away from the bar, and the double door entrance with a green neon sign right above it outside, called 'The Macintyre Bar', named simply after the British couple that owned it. The couple were extremely kind, and Vesper couldn't have been more thankful for them taking her in when they had, in fact she was sure that if they didn't, she would have ended in the same fate as her mother.

She smiled absentmindedly at the thought of them and how they had taught her to speak English in the six years she had been with them, she was by no means fluent, but she could understand fairly well and hold a conversation. Her reading and writing skills however were just as bad as they were in Russian, dropping out of school at fifteen hadn't helped her in the slightest, and there was no way she could return a year later after her mother had passed.

Vesper remembered that morning as clear as day, at the crack of dawn she had walked into their small dirty bathroom, and found her mother lying, soaking wet in the bathtub, syringe in hand and eyes dull and open. It was a common thing with hookers, drinking and drug addicts, but it was usually thanks to their bosses that they would become so. Their own way of making sure that they constantly had control over their women, as if they were dogs in a pound, it made Vesper sick to her stomach, and her eyes stung with unshed tears every time she remembered that morning.

That was one thing she feared, being under the control of men like that, forced into sickening things and ending your life shortly. She may have lived a boring life, but she would prefer to live on the sidelines and on the fringe of society, than be tangled into all the underground and terrifying happenings of Moscow.

"Ay! Barmaid!" The thick accent of a Turkish man startled Vesper, and she turned to him as he motioned her back over to the three men, the other two English men staring at her approaching form nonchalantly as they sipped on their drinks.

"You speak English?"

She nodded, absentmindedly wiping a spilt drink off the bar in front of them with a dish cloth, and simply stared at the man as a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Just how _old _are you?"

"Twenty two," she answered softly, her Russian accent clouding her English slightly, and watched the man laugh at her answer, she knew why; she didn't look it. Her small frame and baby features made her look many years younger, she was often questioned whether she was old enough to be behind the bar at all, by now she was used to this sort of reaction.

"You don't look a day over fifteen," he grumbled out, a rumbling laughter followed him, nudging the men beside him to laugh along, only they didn't. The man didn't seem to notice, and Vesper's eyes connected with the man in front of her that she had spoken with previously, he gave an eye roll and Vesper retorted with a tight awkward smile, turning back around to walk down the bar.

It was nearing the crack of dawn when the herd of men had eventually left, some heading across the street and others back to where they were most likely staying. Bits of broken glass and spilt drinks littered the floor, something Vesper was used to when it got over crowded in the bar, and she wasn't about to complain when tonight's rush of customers had brought in more money for the week. She was helped by Demetrius and Milla; two young teenagers, who were also cousins, to sweep up the mess, both children adorned dark hair and bright green eyes, their mother's being twin sisters helped with that.

They had left soon enough, thanking Vesper for their daily payment, and were on their way home for a goodnights rest. She stayed behind that night, counting the amount they made and cashing it into the safe, making room in the tills for the weekend surge, and this once again was a challenge for her, seeing as her math knowledge wasn't up to speed, she was once again taught by the Macintyre's on how it all worked.

She yawned tiredly, thinking of how the couples evening out to the theatre must have gone, they had been meaning to go for several weeks, so Vesper had kindly offered to work alone on what was supposed to be the least busy night at the bar. Somehow she had still managed, and pictured Evelyn Macintyre's smiling wrinkled face at her, brown eyes shining in pride, with greying brown hair pulled back as it always was.

She never understood why they moved to Moscow, the bar and nightclub businesses my have been easier to uphold here, but other than that there wasn't much else. It wasn't exactly the type of environment you would have a family in, and the education system must have been far better in England, not to mention it had a lower crime rate and not as bad weather.

Vesper pulled on her old leather jacket, most of her clothes being hand-me-downs from Evelyn, and wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck, noticing that the first wisps of snow were beginning to fall, once again reminded that December was merely a few weeks away. Swinging her messenger back over her shoulder, she left the bar from the front doors, and gasped softly as the cold frozen air hit her skin, her face paling even more as a shiver ran up her spine.

Locking the double doors she pulled the shutters down, pad locking it at the bottom, before heading on her way. She nodded to certain women who hung around outside the brothel, some as young as her, and once again reminded herself of just how truly fortunate she was to not be in their place.

She walked along the cobbled pavement, the floor uneven and difficult for any drunken person to walk properly on, and turned a corner. The alley behind the bar was where she ventured to and from everyday, the stairs leading up to her home located there, rusty rickety stairs that she sometimes felt may collapse under her. Digging her hands into her pockets she ducked her head down, a group of women surrounded by potential 'clients' hanging around, all men were from the bar previously. She sped up her pace a little, seeing that both groups were having a heated discussion in a language she did not understand, and she had seen the consequences of a hooker becoming too outspoken before.

Before Vesper had time to even understand what was going on, gunshots ensued, women screaming as the men grabbed at them by the hair, guns out and men shouting orders at each other. Vesper's stomach dropped, she had heard about things like this, rumours and bar gossip, but never did she think she would witness it, her heart beat sped up until it felt like it would jump out of her mouth.

Without a second thought for the women Vesper bolted, the last few metres away from her home, her safe haven, nervousness and fear over took her as these unfamiliar men became violent with these women. She jumped up her worn stairs, running two at a time as screaming and shots into the air continued, and fumbled for her keys in her bag, her jittery nerves causing her to drop them on the floor. Bending to pick them up, she didn't even see the large fisted hand aimed at her when she rose, colliding with her cheek, and falling to the ground.

Vesper had no time to even collect her thoughts before she was being dragged up by the hair, tasting blood on the inside of her cheek, feeling terrified and disoriented. The man droved her head into the front door of her home, hard enough to cause Vesper to black out completely, her last thought being that her luck had simply run out.

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**First official chapter, hope you like it! I've got to say I'm a little surprised with the result that the prologue had gotten, 200 views in 24 hours? That's pretty big guys so thank you, and also thanks to those who favourited, followed and reviewed! It means very much and I hope it continues!**

**PiecesInTheirGames: Thank you bby! Yeah I want her to literally be like just a forgetful person, who just happens to have bad luck, and that people accept it cause it's an everyday thing. Yes yes I named her Vesper! I love that name! And than you bby your support is always so appreciated!**

**SleeplessRoad: Thank you I shall!**

**LauraWoodx: Thank you! :D So happy you think that, and I hope you like the rest of this story just as much! **


	3. Wake

"_I Wanna Be Drunk When I Wake Up, On The Right Side Of The Wrong, And Every Excuse I Made Up, Tell You The Truth I Hate, What Didn't Kill Me, It Never Made Me Stronger At All." – Ed Sheeran; Drunk._

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The first thought to enter Vesper's mind when she arose from unconsciousness, was that her head ached an absurd amount, as if she had been hit by a train, followed by the fact she was in near darkness and with no idea of where she was. Slowly it all began to come back to her, the heated discussion between the visitors and women, the gunshots and screaming, and lastly; being attacked and knocked unconscious from behind.

She tried to calm her beating heart, the sounds around her filling her ears as she begun to realise she wasn't alone. Crying, and rushed fearful talking filtered through the small space she was in, a long with the rumbling sound of an engine. She wasn't the only girl in this vehicle, which seemed to be taking them somewhere; and it scared the life out of her.

It was exactly what she had always feared, things out of her control, and sitting there in what appeared to be a dark van was exactly that. She was bound to have unlikely odds of getting away, the men outweighed her in strength and weaponry, and she had no idea of where she could possibly be. A hand touched her head to calm herself, only to be met with a cold liquid sticky substance, drawing her hand back down she drew it close to her nose, sniffing slightly.

It appeared that that smack against the door had done more damage than just knocking her unconscious; it had broken the skin and caused a bleed. It didn't appear to be too serious though, as it already seemed to be drying and wasn't bleeding excessively, and Vesper used the back of her hand to try and wipe away some of it from her left brow.

She felt around in the dark, wavering slightly as the van went over what seemed to be a bump, before her hand made contact with another's briefly. She could hear the woman in the dark, breathing heavily, yet didn't seem to give off any indication that she was panicking, in fact the deep breaths seemed to be calming the woman.

"Hello?" Vesper's voice felt raspy, and her throat felt constricted and sore, as if she had been crying.

She heard the women shift slightly, until she felt her cold hand rest on her upper arm, she heard the woman scuffle around softly, as if she were looking for something, and every woman in the van gasped slightly as the van went over a particularly large bump. They were becoming more frequent, resulting in Vesper guessing that they had completely left the city, and were now off a solid concrete road and probably heading into the middle of nowhere.

She hadn't realised that she herself had let out a soft yelp until the woman shushed her, moving closer to her until she lit a lighter, a tiny small frame of light beamed between them, enough for Vesper to at least see her face slightly.

"There. At least we are not blind now."

The woman smiled to herself, her accent just as thick as Vespers, looking up to Vesper briefly, only to do a double take as her brows creased together in confusion, recognition sparked in her brown eyes as she stared at Vesper.

"You do not work with me."

Vesper nodded softly, shuffling around until her back rested against the metal wall of the van, "no, I work in the bar across from you … I was on my way home when I was attacked."

"They think you are one of us," the woman breathed to herself, looking slightly troubled at the fact she had just discovered.

Vesper shivered, folding her arms to attempt to keep some warmth, taking in the woman's features, she looked to be in her mid thirties, red hair and eye makeup running slightly, her lipstick was fading away and left a smudge. The hookers in that brothel were never squeaky clean, in fact most of them looked a state, and this woman however was the cleanest one she had seen. The woman clearly looked after herself more than others, for her skin was not deathly pale, nor was she abnormally skinny as most of them were, and her red hair seemed to be brushed often.

She wore knee high leather boots, along with denim shorts and a black blazer. How she did not freeze to death in the harsh Russian weather with that clothing, she did not know.

"I'm Olga," the woman offered, her voice was firm and she offered her hand, which Vesper shook hesitantly.

"Vesper."

Ah, the Macintyre's girl."

Vesper nodded once more, before squinting her eyes in the darkness to look around, others had followed Olga's lead and some had lit their own lighters, all clearly smokers.

"What are they going to do with us?"

Olga seemed hesitant to answer as she looked at Vesper; the girl was so young, so unaware of the things women like her had seen. She appeared so fragile to Olga, and caught in a web of trouble that had nothing to do with her, of course she knew what was going to happen. It was an unfortunate story that travelled between women in her work all the time, stories of women being taken, used for men like these until they were dumped into some ditch.

"They'll sell us to the men."

What colour was left in Vesper's cheek had drained, her stomach dropping a considerable amount as dread left her, and her throat constricted as she barely squeaked out a reply.

"Sell?"

Olga nodded her head morbidly, her lips pursed together as she sighed softly, "these men are mercenaries, they go months without seeing any women, and this is their solution."

"That's .. that's," Vesper could find no words, for she already began picturing the worst possible scenario's in her head.

She wasn't, however, prepared for the scenario that awaited her.

The van eventually came to a stop, the women's whispers becoming frantic and whimpering, the double doors of the van swinging open, flashlights out and shining on their faces. The new power of light hurt Vesper's eyes, and she raised a hand to shield her view of the light as the man began dragging women out, some by the shoulders of their jackets, others by the hair.

Olga held onto Vesper's hand in a vice like grip, and she held on just as tightly, clinging onto the support from the older woman as much as she could. Olga never let go, even when they were grabbed and pulled out of the van she held onto the younger girls hand tightly, and Vesper tried to calm her churning stomach as much as she could as they were dragged through a small field in the night.

The warehouse they were pulled into looked abandoned, rusted and vandalised by graffiti, littered with old jeeps and grey vans that appeared to belong to these men. They were pulled up a set of staircases, the warehouse itself attached to a barely remaining factory. They truly were in the middle of nowhere; nobody would be able to hear someone scream out here, and that appeared to be the intention of this place.

There was a chorus of cheers as the women were pushed through a set of double doors, onto to what once looked like the factory floor, makeshift cots and plastic chairs surrounded the place, more than double the amount of men that were at Vesper's bar filled the place.

They varied in age and race once more, all in the same combat trousers and boots, thick vests covered their torsos, rifles, daggers and other powerful weaponry were stacked in several places. All these men in one place, of course they were mercenaries, only she had no idea what business they would have in Russia, unless of course, if they were recruiting Vesper thought.

"Move it, shrimp."

Vesper was shoved forward, bumping into the woman behind her and making Olga jerk forward due to their connected hands.

One of the Russian men jumped onto a crate, attempting to settle the men down, but to no avail, and eventually shot a bullet into the air with his hand gun, effectively silencing the men.

A woman was grabbed and pushed forward, being held by the elbow as she stood by the crate, her light brown hair dishevelled and sticking out.

"Bidding starts at five hundred ruble!"

Vesper choked out a gasp, and Olga's hand tightened more than it already had, bile rising in the young girl's throat as she processed just exactly what they were doing. They were _auctioning_ women, as if they were properties, objects, _dogs_, something that was to be owned and used, not a human being with feelings and rights.

These men terrified her, the hungry and dirty look in their eyes as they watched each woman intently, undressing them with their eyes, mostly likely already picking one to bid for.

It went on like that, men screaming and raising their hands for prices, some in English, some in Russian, the women being shoved into a man's dirty arms and dragged away. Some crying softly, others with vacant expressions as they accepted their fates, and it did nothing to calm Vesper's nerves.

She was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, which was what had gone through Vesper's mind at that very moment, her hand being ripped away from Olga's as she was in the small group of women left to be sold. She knew she had had her own amount of bad luck in her life, but she never imagined in her life that would stumble upon as bad of luck as this.

The man on the crate grunted in disgust as he looked down to her, seeing as she was covered in top to bottom with clothing that was not revealing, and her small frame with barely any attractive assets didn't help.

"… A hundred an' fifty ruble for her!"

She wasn't surprised with the cheap pitiful pricing, nor was she surprised with the laughter that some men had come out with, none had yelled out a higher price yet, only one making a comment on her age once again.

"She's young enough to be in school!"

"She don't look like no hooker!"

"That's because she's not," Vesper recognised the English accent, the man from the bar she had met earlier in the night stood, his brow creased as he briefly looked at her, "she works in the bar across the road from that hooker place, she served me!"

"Is that so?" The Russian bidder question, leering down at her from his position before he looked back up to the men, shrugging it off before re-pricing her.

"In that case … thirty ruble."

Vesper's eyes stung with tears as she attempted to keep them at bay, biting down on her lip as she kept her head down, barely being able to stay on her feet, the black mercenary holding onto her elbow the only reason she was still standing.

"Look at her lips," one laughed out, sounding as sick as he looked, "bet she can do a lot with those plump things."

The entire warehouse busted into laughter, and Vesper took advantage of the noise to choke out one sob, craning her head to look back to Olga, who looked to her sadly, giving her a nod as some form of support. The laughing however, cut off almost instantly, as if someone had interrupted them.

She looked back to the men, all their heads turned away from her, and towards the back of the crowd, unable to see who or what they were looking at, she simply stood their dumbfounded. Her lips quivering due to her tears finally falling, although she managed to hold back the loud sobs, and looked up to the black haired Russian on the crate as he seemed to practically shake in his boots.

"S-si-sir," he stuttered out, genuinely seeming to be terrified of who ever he was looking out, 'fr-free of charge for you."

Vesper almost wanted to wail, at the fact she had been degraded to even not being priced, only she didn't understand why until the men had parted like the red sea to reveal the man in the back. She collapsed onto her knees, the man beside letting go without even realising, staring at the man at the other end of the room in such admiration, almost as if he were a god.

Her heart jumped in her throat, constricting and almost suffocating her, fear filling every fibre in her body like nothing before. The man, or monster Vesper couldn't tell, was larger than anything she had ever seen, muscles practically tearing at his long sleeved shirt, his height towering over the other men, his posture and presence alone screamed his position to these men, all practically bowing down to him. One single large arm of his rose in the air, his hand looked to be larger than Vesper's skull, in a motion for him to bid, and her fear of him didn't stop there. A mask covered most of his face, his head shaved and thick grey straps covering his jaw and the top of his head.

The worst of all was his eyes, his grey eyes burning into Vesper's soul, as if he could see everything, as if he knew he could break her with one swift move, and she was certain he could.

At that moment, right there for the first time in her life, Vesper knew she would be better off dead.

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**So chapter two and the first glimpse of Bane! Yeah uhm, as you've probably guessed this is a dark fic, and I will expose some pretty nasty, unspoken of things, so if it's not your thing I would strongly advice you to not read the rest of this story to come. Violence, rape and suicide is going to be pretty important themes in this story. ANYWAY, thank you to the follows and reviews that I've gotten, actually pretty surprised with how well the first two chapters were received!**

**Joe: Thank you so much for your reviews, they were lovely and yes you would be right in thinking it was ominous! Hope you enjoy the story as it goes along!**

**PiecesInTheirGames: Yeah haha I corrected that after I realised I read that it said reviews XD And thank you :3 you're so supportive and I just love you! And thank you for reviewing again! **

**LauraWoodx; I hope your right about that! Haha thank you and I hope you continue to like it! **


	4. Goodbye

"_As My Life Flashes Before My Eyes, I'm Wondering Will I Ever See Another Sunrise? So Many Wont Get The Chance To Say Goodbye, But It's Too Late To Think Of The Value Of My Life." Rihanna; Russian Roulette._

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His hand rose out of one simple reason; boredom. That and the thought of destroying something so fragile looking was more than appealing, trembling beneath him with terrified blue eyes, it made him want to crush her. Breaking things was what someone as disturbed as him did best; his penetrating grey eyes almost gleamed with the thought of obliterating her until there was merely pieces of her left. Crying and softly whimpering, it made him sick.

If the men's reaction to Bane's presence didn't alert Vesper of his power in this group of Mercenaries, then his living space certainly did. While the other men all sat around small cots crowded together on the factory floor, the bulky intimidating man resided in a dusty, office that overlooked the entire factory floor, blinds closed by his henchmen when he had stepped in later that evening.

The nearly broken legs of the mahogany desk seemed as if it would collapse any moment, stacked with various papers of maps and what looked to be confidential files. A large fire place was on the left of the room, flames wisping out of it to keep out to frozen weather of Russia, it was the only comfort Vesper had felt all night when the warm flames kissed her skin. That comfort soon evaporated when she saw the lone double mattress placed on the floor, looking to be slightly damp, placed just below the blinded window, a dirty looking sheet barely covering it.

Her stomach tightened into knots, and she balled fistfuls of her shirts to keep herself from covering her face with her hands and crying. The henchmen holding onto her elbow shoved her forward, tripping over her feet and landing on the floor on her knees. The wooden door was slammed shut soon after, and Vesper kept her head cast down, staring at the old wooden floorboards in an attempt to calm her fear from the monster standing by the fire place.

Shrugging off his coat and leaving on the floor, he stretched his neck, cracks sounding, before he turned back around, and walking past Vesper, barely noticing her presence. He unclipped his bullet proof vest slowly, placing it beside the desk, leaning against it. He then removed his long sleeved shirt, the black material contrasting against his porcelain white skin, throwing it to a duffel bag beside the desk, covered in discarded clothing.

His boots echoed on the worn floorboards as he stalked back towards Vesper, his breathing through the concoction on his mouth making it audible, making it sound as if it were painful to do so.

She closed her eyes, in hopes of waking up and realising that this would all be a nightmare. Only she didn't, and she cursed herself for even wishing such a thing, because wishing would get her no where. She was on her own with this, stuck in the middle of no where, far from Moscow, and as daylight was finally approaching she wondered what Evelyn and Michael Macintyre may think, how they would react when they had realised she was gone.

Maybe they would go to the police, maybe they would declare her a missing person, but she knew that it would be futile. They may post an out dated picture of her, but the police would never look, she was an orphaned girl who to be quite frank no one really cared about, people didn't go looking for people like her. The would be a dozen other women missing anyway, women from across the street that people gave even less of a shit about.

She would be cast away with them, a stroke of bad luck, that these things happened, and would be forgotten off. Vesper had no one, nothing to go back to, because no one cared about people like her, she was unimportant, and these men knew it.

"Get up."

His voice startled her, seeing as she wasn't expecting such a thick British accent to come from him, sounding far more intelligent that he looked, muffled by the mask. Then again she wasn't sure what to expect when she eventually heard his voice, and his deep voice reverberated through the room, sending cold shivers right down to the bone.

She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts of how much this monster terrified her that she hadn't realised that she had completely ignored his command, causing her to yelp in shock and pain when his beast of a hand grabbed her by the hair, yanking her up without considering how much it would pain her. Then again she didn't think he cared for whether he caused pain on others, he was built to destroy things, things clearly much bigger and more important than her. She probably looked like an insect beneath his foot, one she knew that he would eventually stomp on, crushing her until there was nothing left.

"You will do well to obey if you wish to prolong your life."

She said nothing, knowing that if she did it would be a very big mistake, and let him drag her by the hair to the beat up mattress, falling onto it as hr threw her down, springs inside it of it creaking audibly at her weight.

Vesper cried that night, silently so as not to anger her captive, curling into a ball in the mattress, wearing what was left of her now torn clothing. Soft tears fell down her cheeks and onto the mattress, the sheet wrapped around her, while the monstrous man sat at his desk, sifting through saviours and behaving as if he hadn't just violated a young girl.

She could feel the pain of her newly formed bruises already setting in, her wrists sore from being crushed together by one of his, held above her head as if to keep her from fighting him. Her collar bone and shoulder sore from where his mask pressed into her, his enormous body weight crushing down on hers as he relieved himself, purple bruises littered the inside of her thighs.

He was unnaturally silent the entire way through, the only sound being from the creaking of the mattress, almost constrict her from breathing as his torso weighed down on her ribcage, destroying her innocence and causing pain in every inch of her body. Through all of it she hadn't made a sound, no attempt to push him off or fight against him, because she knew there was no point, this creature could simply crush her skull with his bare hands; she had no chance of fighting him off. It was a futile idea.

"Weeping is a form of weakness, a weakness that I do not appreciate witnessing."

Even through all his difficult smart words she understood the threat, and out of her fear of him she wiped at her cheeks, biting her lip and forcing herself to stop the tears, shutting her eyes tightly to push the horrific memories out of her head. His tone was so formal, professional yet underlined with so much ferocity she couldn't understand how these men to bear to be around him for so long.

Her plaid shirt was practically the only thing left on her, her jeans and jacket ripped from her and torn, all done with a single care from the man, as if they were obstacles that were easily removable in his path.

She could almost laugh at the notion of sleeping, the idea was no longer appealing, no matter how tired she was now, she had no need to be plagued in nightmares in her sleep when she was already living in one. Her dirty blonde hair now felt tangled and a mess, her skin now dry from the sweat once there, and she longed for a shower to scrub away the dirt she felt, both literal and metaphorical.

The sun had completely risen by the time Bane had left his quarters, and only then was Vesper feeling safe enough to allow herself some sleep, and eventually, ever so slowly, her eyes fluttered shut.

Cold air swept up her bare legs, the plain white sheet barely warming her, the fire had long been put out and a shiver ran up her spine, eventually stirring her awake, and she pulled her shirt tighter around her as she sat up. Rubbing the crust out of her eyes Vesper yawned softly, pulling the elastic out of her tangled hair, she attempted to run her fingers through the blonde looks. It looked darker, considering it was covered in sweat, and the blood that she had still failed to clean from her head, she wished for nothing but a warm shower.

She only then noticed the metal tray beside the bed, a single bowl with what appeared to be porridge; breakfast. She had definitely not slept for a long period amount of time, seeing as breakfast had been served, and she doubted the monster was the one to have placed it there. Beside it, folded perfectly, was a knitted navy green jumper, and only a jumper.

Vesper picked it up, unfolding it and holding it out before her, understanding only slightly as it was clearly a men's size, and a large one at that. She pulled it over her plaid shirt, feeling the thick soft material already warming her pale skin, and stood briefly to pull it down, falling all the way down to her knees. She sighed sadly, understanding why she had not been given any bottoms, and felt just as sick as she had before at the thought of it, of his hands on her and bruising every inch of her skin.

A knock on the door drew her out of her spiral into depression, and she sank down back onto the mattress, drawing her knees up and pulling the sheet over her legs, not wanting to humiliate herself further.

The door opened with a resounding creak, and Vesper's eyes lit up in recognition as she recognized the Englishmen from the bar pop his head in, a tight awkward smile on his lips. He failed to meet her gaze much as he walked in, stopping just before her and bending to pick up the uneaten tray of porridge, which was now cold. She kept her eyes on his black combat books, pausing for a very long time before she replied to his question of why she had not eaten.

"I am not hungry," her accented voice was barely above a whisper, her voice trembling, and when she eventually looked up to him, his brows furrowed, guilt coursing through him as he saw her blue eyes filled with nothing but despair.

Normally he wouldn't care, he had gotten past that the first time they had brought back whores, and that was many years ago. The fact was that this time she wasn't a whore, she was beyond young and exposed to such horrors she shouldn't have seen, and because – to some degree - he knew her, and knowing the woman who you know is being brutally raped made it much worse than it should have already been.

"What's your name?"

Vesper looked back to him, pressing her lips together in contemplation before she looked away again, "Vesper."

He nodded, holding the tray in one hand, while pointing a thumb to his chest with the other, "I'm Ezerah."

Her suspicions had been correct, with a name such as that he clearly was of Arab heritage, despite his English accent, and when she nodded he seemed to visibly relax, his dark coloured eyes softening before he turned to leave the room, opening the door once more.

He stood at the door, hand on the doorknob as he was about to close it, Vesper staring at him innocently, arms wrapped around herself.

"I'm sorry."

The door closed, without a single interruption, and the silence that followed made her feel as if no one had ever been in the room, yet somehow, even then, Vesper felt as if it were the most sincere words she had ever been given.

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**Genuinely surprised with how well the last the chapter was received, I'm really thankful for all your kind words! **

**PiecesInTheirGames: You'll be holding your breath a lot more as these chapters go by! And thank you bby you're always so awesome and lovely with your words :3 And yes! Bane is in the house, and it'll be the sickest romance you have ever seen XD Love you too bubba!**

**Sirin~: brutal indeed! And thank you, hope you liked this chapter!**

**Guest: Thank you, it honestly means a lot!**

**ZabuzasGirl: Your update is here!**

**Rven: Thank you and hope you liked this chapter!**

**Joe: I hope not too uneasy! And thank you, your words are so lovely and mean so much, and he will definitely not be a soft hearted puppy! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**LauraWoodx: Thank you, I appreciate that and I hope you like the rest of the story!**

**Vanah: Ha crack cocain, I completely understand what you mean there! And thank you so much for that, I feel so bashful XD**


	5. Scream

"_I Wanna Sing, I Wanna Shout, I Wanna Scream Till The Words Dry Out. So Put It In All Of The Papers, I'm Not Afraid They Can Read All About … Read All About It." – Emile Sande; Read All About It._

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A month. One painful gruelling month Vesper had been confined to the spaces of Bane's cold living space, the first snow beginning as December came in. It made the entire factory twice as cold, and due to Vesper's constant shivering her captive had become irritated and had invested in a duvet, it warmed her skin but in no way kept the cold out, despite the fireplace constantly burning now. His cruel and volatile behaviour towards her didn't lessen, and day by day Vesper felt pieces of her disappearing, as if she were becoming an empty shell.

She had never felt whole before, her mother's death and upbringing had made sure of that, but by no means had she ever felt this empty and broken; if this was the monsters aim then he had excelled in achieving it. His daily torture to her body and mind hadn't ceased, and she was on the verge of praising the lord when he had eventually voiced that he and a few men would be travelling to St. Petersburg for a few days, she had gotten a perfect nights sleep that night, and woke up the next morning without feeling bruised what so ever.

That had been almost a week ago, and her luck didn't stop there, never had Vesper been more happy for being a woman, seeing as her menstrual cycle had begun, and knew for a fact that when Bane returned she would not be touched. Despite his vulgar behaviour in how he treated her, and despite the mess she was, Bane appeared to have rather good personal hygiene.

She had learned quickly that when she wasn't in the company of Bane, he had a man stand outside guard, making it difficult for her to even contemplate escape. In the month she hadn't step foot out of this room, unless it was to use the bathroom, and even then she hadn't been alone, someone stood outside until she resurfaced from the bathroom. Today however she felt as if she had a chance, surely if she let one of the men know of her situation he would have no choice but to leave her in order to retrieve the toiletries she would need.

That was why, as stood in the doorway of Bane's office, staring up innocently to the Turkish mercenary before her, who had adorned rather pink cheeks at her question, she waited for him to finally say something. Eventually he did, with a clear of his throat, and rubbing the stubble on his chin, telling Vesper to wait inside the room until he returned.

She took the time to sift through some of Bane's belong, careful not to misplace anything should he notice, his documents on the battered desk soon bored her, the words and numbers and maps confusing her easily, and moved onto something she had never noticed before. The shelf on top of the fire place was home to a series of books, dust covered them all, and she pulled one off, blowing away the dust softly.

Surprisingly they were all in English, delighting Vesper a little as she thought she could finally improve on her English reading, she hadn't had the time to back in Moscow, between her night shifts at the bar and spending her day cleaning the bar itself. Although it would make her situation none the better, it did give her something to do other than sit silently staring at the floor while Bane worked at his desk if her plan to escape didn't go well.

The man soon returned, not only with a box of tampons, but a towel and a new knitted jumper for her to use along with underwear, his cheeks still slightly pink, and offered an awkward smile to her, his Turkish accent filtering through his voice.

"You may use the showers downstairs, I shall escort you," she took the clothing and toiletries from him with a soft grateful smile, "He uh … he does not want me giving you trousers."

Although the worship in his voice was evident when he spoke of Bane, he still had the decency to appear apologetic over her clothing, and motioned for her to follow with his head. She did as she was told silently, her bare feet padding across the cold concrete floor, and had to wonder whether any of the other women had had this problem, for they seemed to be ready with supplies should it happen.

With the thought of the other women in her mind, Vesper wondered what had happened to Olga, the older woman had been so kind and caring towards her in their last few moments together, that she worried for her wellbeing, hoping she was okay and that she had not ended up with as big of a monster as Bane. She hadn't seen the British man Ezerah since her first morning in the factory either, being locked up in that room had certainly helped with that, but she hoped to at least see one familiar face around here, someone who didn't make her feel scared or uncomfortable.

He took her down a private set of stairs, appearing to go to the ground floor on the opposite side of the factory, and into a dark hallway, the man stopped for a brief moment, his hand feeling around the side of one of the grey walls, until lights flickered on, the lights flashing on and off down the hallway as a clear sign of how long this building had been empty.

She followed him down to the end of the hall, until stopping at a door-less opening, one on opposite sides of the hallway, signs of gender for either one. He motioned to the one for females, claiming that he would be waiting outside until she was done, she nodded towards him, walking into the female shower room, the entire thing tiled in white – and dirty – Vesper grimaced, walking past a set of cubicles and sinks opposite them, taking a left away from them. She stood in front of a set of open showers, all line together, clearly no one cared for privacy when in this factory, and placed all her things on the floor.

She undressed quickly due to the cold air, turning on one of the faucets in the middle of the rows of showers, her hand remaining under the water until it eventually warmed. Quickly she moved under it, and for the first time smiling as the warm water cascaded down her pale skin, soaking into her filthy blonde hair, and almost laughed at the fact that the only thing to make her smile was that she was allowed to finally take a shower.

She was given no shampoo or soap, so had to make due by simply scrubbing at her skin with her hands, her fingers running through her hair every couple of minutes, but still she didn't complain, because she was lucky to get even this from this group of brute men.

She wondered in that moment why the men worshipped Bane so much, she didn't understand how someone so cruel and demon like could have anything to offer to these men other than women, because not all of them seemed to want just that. They held so much belief in their eyes, confidence that whatever Bane was doing for the best – but it was just that, she didn't know what Bane was doing, she didn't understand whether whatever he _was_ doing was for the best, the man was a destroyer. Plain and simple.

When she had finished she left the faucet running, wrapping the towel around her and drying off as quickly as she could, keeping the towel wrapped around her and walking back to the toilet cubicles as quietly as she could. Closing the door and placing her new clothing on top of the toilet seat, lid down. She changed as quickly as she could, ripping open the box of tampons. She sighed in relief when she noticed the windows above the toilets, a row of the down the entire set of cubicles. Dropping the towel to the floor, and her hair still wet she stood on top of the seat, attempting to keep her movement quite, thankful that the sound of the water hitting the tiled floor in the showers gave her some coverage.

She would admit that her plan wasn't very well thought out, in fact she was improvising the entire thing, and with a lot of pulling with her small hands the old window eventually slid open, just large enough for her to fit her body through. Though pulling herself up would be a mission in its own, and she doubted that she wouldn't make any noise while trying to do so. The window levelled out exactly with the ground outside, she could feel the wet mud of the ground beneath her fingers. She almost wanted to cry in relief, freedom so close to her, just within reach of her hold.

It meant that she wasn't on the same floor as the factory floor, but in fact beneath it, shoving her arms through, without caring to get dirty again she began pulling herself up, her head peeking through the small window and skinny legs kicking out into the air as she continuously tried to push herself up and out of the window. It took much effort, causing Vesper to gasp for air as her hands pulled on the window frame, her body slowly making its way out of the window.

Vespers fingertips almost froze from being contact with the snow and cold air, the white substance mixing in with the mud and staining her new jumper. Her hair still damp and mud smeared on her knees, she begun to realise just how badly thought out her plan was, having to run for a number of miles in the snow would surely give her frost bite, seeing as she had no shoes. She lay in the dirty ground for a few moments, catching her breath, before she stood on shaky legs, taking in the scenery now that it was broad daylight.

Trees coated in snow surrounded the factory, and a track of car tires ran all the way down to the left of the factory, heading around the corner, meaning that there must have been a road leading back to the city in that direction. She hurried quickly, ignoring the freezing pain in her bare toes as she followed the tracks, it was only a matter of time until the mercenary watching her would realise she was gone, and she wanted to have pretty good distance between them if she wanted a chance of getting away.

The place was littered with trucks and jeeps, indicating that this was the mens main form on transportation, crossing borders – most likely illegally- in them, for they were vehicles mainly made for long distances.

Vesper weaved through several vehicles, making sure to keep her head ducked down as she passed groups of men hanging around certain keeps, laughter and brutish jokes being swapped between them. More vehicles drove in, men jumping out of the back and head in, causing Vesper to drop to her knees beside 4x4, her knees becoming red as they settled into the mud and snow. She shivered uncontrollably, lips smacking together from the cold air, she was just as dirty as she had been before, smacking a hand over her lips as a group walked past the jeep on the other side.

She stayed on her knees, crawling as quietly as she could around to the rear of the jeep, until the men were a good distance away, rising to her feet she took off running keeping her eyes on the back of their heads, ready to duck down should they turn around. Only she should have kept her head looking forward, for she would have seen the beastly figure she ran into beforehand, and wouldn't have lost her balance on the impact.

Startled as she begun feeling backwards, she felt a large fist enclose around her neck and pulling her back forward, feet barely on the ground and almost choking on the hold around her neck.

"Leaving so soon?"

The deep metallic voice of the monster caused dread and fear to course through Vesper's veins, her heart feeling as if it would burst, terrible thoughts of what the man would do to her constricted around her mind. She froze, her blue eyes staring up into his fearfully, only now noticing that although his words and tone may have seemed like, his posture and dark evil eyes conveyed the very opposite. He was not only angry, he was eager to punish her, and she had no idea … no idea of the fate that awaited her now that he had caught her.

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**Sorry that there has been a longer wait for this chapter, I've had to do some stuff (education wise) before I properly sat down to write this chapter… and I have to say I'm so pleased and THANKFUL for the reception this story has gotten, 24 reviews for four chapters! That's really something guys so I thank you!**

**Decepticon-silverstreak: love your name btw! And thank you that makes me feel very happy :D hope you liked this chapter!**

** : yes she was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time! And don't get too hasty there, the love may not be so onesided ;) stay in tune to see!**

**MyLittleLolita: more has come~!**

**Guest: yes there will be! And thank you I hope you enjoy it!**

**PiecesInTheirGames: Haha imagine if I hadn't of told you what was going down! And thanks, yeah I didn't want it to be too graphic or unbearable to read, I wanted to make it clear what was going on without sickening people too much. And ahaha yes! The English student emerges! Thank you for reviewing bby!**

**Goldspleen: where you really that surprised? I though people would see the basty Bane coming, I didn't want him to be a hero or gentlemen like because the fact is he's not, he is a villain …and a rather cruel one at that, he takes joy out of other peoples pain and that was my aim for the story! But thank you for understand that point and liking my story! It means so much!**

**GwenLight: thank you! And nope he has not strayed from that at all! Haha I'm glad it does, so does mine to be honest I really enjoy writing this! And thank you, I do try very hard when it comes to writing the imagery, so its nice that you noticed! Thank you for reviewing!**


	6. Dream

"_All Around Me Are Familiar Faces, Worn Out Places, Worn Out Faces, And I Find It Kind Of Funny, And I Find It Kind Of Sad. The Dreams In Which I'm Dying Are The Best I've Ever Had, I Find It Hard To Tell You, I Find It Hard To Take. When People Run In Circles It's A Very, Very Mad World." – Gary Jules; Mad World._

* * *

"You're lucky the bone didn't fall out of place when it broke, you just have to keep still for the next couple of weeks and it should heal up pretty well."

It had turned out that Ezerah was not only a mercenary, but had been studying to become a doctor back in England, of course it led to Vesper being utterly confused as to why he would chose this sort of life, when he had such a promising future back there. She didn't think that people who were born in countries as fortunate as those truly understood the sort of luxuries they had, education, job opportunities, and their life style in general was far more comfortable.

Not that she would have said any of this to Ezerah, it wasn't her place to do such a thing, nor would it ever be. Besides she couldn't utter a single world at this moment in time, both her lips were bruised and swollen, one scabbing over rather unattractively at the punches it had taken, she could no longer see through her left eye, the swelling on her cheek and eyelids completely obstructed her vision. She was a completely mess, right eyebrow cut open from when her head had connected with the window in Bane's room, and a purple broken nose.

The man had completely destroyed her face, and she let him, staying silent throughout the entire ordeal, only quietly whimpering when the pain set it later. She didn't think she deserved it, not at all; no one could blame her from trying to escape this hellish nightmare. However it didn't mean that Bane would simply make sure she would never leave the room again, that wasn't him at all, Bane gained his power by presenting his authority in a very physical way, he wanted her to suffer a dramatic amount, to make sure she learned her lesson; and she had.

She nodded in appreciation to Ezerah, attempting to smile but failing miserably, for it was far too painful for her to do so, and the pity that poured through Ezerah's dark brown eyes was hard to miss. He sighed, looking down the floor briefly, he crouched in front of her, where she sat cross legged on the mattress, her right arm in a makeshift sling; that was the last thing Bane had did to her. She had wondered for a while if it was because she hadn't even begged for him to stop during the beating, for he seemed to only become more agitated with every blow to her face.

It was only until she had fallen to floor, face bleeding profusely from the damage he had caused, that he grabbed her by the forearm, squeezing tightly with one bare hand, so tightly to the point where she could do nothing but scream. Pleading with him to stop until a sickening crack resounded through the room, and he threw her to the floor once more, turning on his heel, satisfied with the damage, his thick military boots thumbing on the floor as he left.

"Why would you even try Vesper?"

She shrugged, wrapping her good arm around her knees, which were covered in sweat pants now. Bane hadn't said anything on the matter, but she doubted even he would want to touch her when she was so useless right now, and it was thanks to Ezerah that she could now cover her legs from the freezing December air.

"You don't understand the repercussions of your actions," he breathed out, shifting to resting one knee on the floor boards, a large first aid kit open beside him, "the man that was meant to be watching you had his skull crushed."

Vesper winced, the image forming in her mind and making her feel uncomfortable, guilt coursing through her. He had only been trying to help at the time, he hadn't needed to have given her the chance to shower, or give her the toiletries she had needed, he didn't have to do anything for her.

But he had, and it had cost him his life, that was Vesper's fault. She knew she hadn't been thinking correctly when she attempted that escape, but she hadn't been thinking about the effect it would have on others, in fact the only thing she was thinking about then was just try to get out of the window.

It just made more questions run in her mind, as to why these men would still follow him so loyally; especially when they knew the kind of damage he was capable of making. He crushed someone's _skull_, and Vesper held no doubt in her mind that he managed to do that with his bare hands. She didn't understand why these men would follow him so blindly if he was capable of that, she couldn't comprehend what made him so special and great that they could overlook such a thing.

She would have grimaced if her nose wasn't healing from being broken, that was another excruciating pain she had gone through, and when Ezerah had set it back in place she had almost wanted to punch him. Even if he tried to be as delicate as possible, it still remained to be an unbearable pain, and he couldn't stress enough how lucky she was in the injuries she had gotten, practically telling her that Bane had made sure he had done no irreparable damage to her.

Her question was why? She was of no significance to him, and he so clearly didn't care for her well being, she was more than positive that if he had broken her neck he would have simply sent for another woman to be abducted.

She then thought of how his grey eyes almost lit up when she eventually screamed in agony, the man was a sadist, a black empty heart and no conscience was what occupied his shell of a body. She didn't hate him, not anymore at least, she was physically and emotionally exhausted for a feeling as strong as that, nor was she indifferent towards him, in fact she pitied him in the slightest. For he must have had the worst childhood and the most disturbing upbringing of all these men to be able to feel pleasure when inflicting pain, something she doubted she would ever witness again.

She was left alone for several hours after Ezerah had gone, the only time she troubled her sore and bruised legs to stand was when she had become tired of simply sitting there. She done the only thing she could do, and grabbed one of the first books she saw on the shelf, not wanting to be on her feet any longer than necessary looking through them to pick the most interesting, and sat back down.

She struggled enough as it so happed by just turning the pages in the book, and spent longer than usual reading a page, mostly due to the fact that some of the overly long words were difficult for her to spell out as well as reading, not to mention she didn't know what some of them even meant. She sighed, pushing through it, determined to not let boredom consume her. She did that for several days, simply sitting there and reading, eyebrows scrunching together if he spent too long on one page, and she was barely disturbed by Bane.

The first time he returned after her beating, he stared for barely a second, grey piercing eyes looking from her beaten face to the book, before shrugging off his sheepskin coat and moving to the desk. Sometimes he worked through the night, others he would barely be in the room at all, either way he ignored her when working, remaining quite as she read.

It should have been no surprise to Vesper however, when he did eventually force himself on her, startling her from her sleep, yanked away by her good arm as she was forced to lay back. Her injuries were clearly not enough to keep her untouched for long, and he barely made a sound in the darkness of the room.

She had fought back this time, out of all the times he had destroyed her dignity and body, and she had completely ignored the voice in her mind that assured her it was futile, that it would result in dangerous consequences, especially after the failed escape. Only she pushed it away, something inside her snapping, her legs kicking out from beneath him, her good arm pushing hopelessly against his bare torso. He put a stop to it quickly, lifting up from her, hand snaking around her neck and crushing it in a choke hold.

His eyes looked almost black in the darkness, making him look twice as menacing as he normally did, so much so that Vesper's heart practically stopped, his voice gruff due to clear tiredness, making it twice as difficult to fully understand him through the mask.

"Do not push me, child … it may be your neck that I should choose to break this time."

Her tiny hand was wrapped loosely around his wrist, her plum lips pressed together as she stared up at him, her accented voice barely above a whisper, "you won't kill me."

She didn't think it was possible for his eyes to darken more than they already had, and a coldness that wasn't there before burned in his eyes, clearly in dislike for what she had just said, hand tightening around her small throat. It would add on to the already dark and sore bruises she had littered across her body, not that a monster like him would care, it was in his nature to destroy things.

"Making assumptions as bold as that are what shall send you to your death."

"You enjoy seeing me in pain too much to kill me."

It was for barely a millisecond, and Vesper hadn't noticed it for her lungs were screaming for oxygen, but his hand loosened the slightest bit, a moment so small he himself almost hadn't realised. Of course he enjoyed it, he had established that many years ago, however being told by someone who appeared to have the mind of complete innocence was something else entirely. Only those of the corrupted recognized sadistic feelings such as his, the ignorance people beyond that could never comprehend it, nor would they succeed in recognising it. She had, and as a result caused the beast of a man to wonder whether she was as innocent or as ignorant as she appeared to be.

Abruptly he let go of her, head falling back onto the mattress beneath her, her blonde hair in a tangled mess, and pushed himself up back onto his feet. Smoothing out his already creased combat trousers, he stared down at her, head tilted, noticing that she looked twice as small as she usually did, curled up in a ball and gasping for air.

"It appears something's are not what they seem."

Those were his last words to her, before he stalked out of the room with thumping boots, disappearing entirely for three days, and for those three fays Vesper had kept silent, reading her book in the freezing room. The only warmth coming from the ever burning fireplace, and she longed for human contact, contact with someone who she knew she would be safe with, contact from the Macintyre's, or Olga, something to clasp onto her hand and reassure her that this was not the end.

It was much later in the evening, after her dinner servings of a simple tomato soup when Bane had returned. Fully dressed in his sheep skin coat, buttoned to the top, melting drops of snow littering his shoulders, soaking it slightly, and black boots smudged with mud and water. Ignoring her as he usually did, he immediately set to work on his desk, and he did it for many hours.

She had asked Ezerah once, what was so important about all the confusing maps and files, and he only replied with one sentence, that he poured over them every single night because 'they were maps of building foundations he needed to memorise', and the answer had done nothing but raise more questions. She refrained from doing so, for she knew that that one question alone was out of bounds, Ezerah's clipped tone was enough to prove that.

Her only question however was why someone would need to memorise the foundations of a building? She doubted he ever studied the subject of architecture, nor did she think he had any interest in such a thing. He wasn't an easy man to read, not at all, in fact she found him to be a rather complex character, she did however believe that when it came to topics such as this, that he held an interest in it for one thing, and one thing only; to destroy them.

He was after all a mercenary.

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**I sincerely apologize for how long you've had to wait for this, I haven't been home in order to write it/I've been quite ill … so yeah I'm sorry!**

**Decepticon-Silverstream: Oh yes, very angry! Haha! Maybe he did after he beat her! **

**Joe: Oh yeah, honestly when I was watching Tom Hardy play him there were times he made me feel so uncomfortable, he gave me goosebumps at one point and I wanted to try and convey that through this fic! So I'm glad it's working! And thank you!**

**LauraWoodx: Haha don't worry I completely understand! And thank you for loving it some much! **

**ElizabethRex: Although I love SO MANY amazing fics with Bane on this site, I personally believe that Bane is incapable of love for another woman, I found Talia an exception to that because he had raised from before he had become so dark. To be honest other than the parental love he feels for Talia, I doubt he even comprehends why anyone would love another romantically, to me personally I thought the idea probably even sickens him. Which is why this story is going to be pretty complex, and dark in a way, and I hope it continues to intrigue you! **

**PiecesInTheirGames: Ha I know right! The whole time writing it I was thinking 'this girl is a silly bitch', but she knew it wasn't a very practical plan. And awwwww thank you, I'm glad I bring out that many emotions in you XD love you too!**

**Unquestionably-Unhinged: Thank you! And I feel sorry for her too, big big trouble!**

**Roc2Roll: More has come!**

**GwenLight: Sorry! I was meaning to have this up a while ago, and thank you!**


	7. Blue

"_No One Knows What It's Like To Be The Bad Man, To Be The Sad Man Behind Blue Eyes, No One Knows What It's Like To Be Hated, To Be Fated To Telling Only Lies. But My Dreams They Aren't As Empty, As My Conscience Seems To Be, My Love Is Vengeance That's Never Free." – Limp Bizkit; Behind Blue Eyes._

* * *

It had perplexed her, more than she would like to admit, and even found herself in wonder over it. It had only been small things at first, barely noticeable to Vesper, only mulling over it for a mere second. She would find herself staring for several minutes at a time and the monster, attempting to understand him, and averting her eyes when he caught wind of her stare.

Beginning with a simple comment, back in the leader's living space, she had been sitting cross legged on the mattress, biting on her bottom lip and glaring at the page she had been on. Finding difficulty in forming one of the sentences, she hadn't anticipated the complexity of the book, and with her basic English even she knew a toddler could read at a much faster rate. She had passed it off as him merely being annoyed by her sighs and soft tuts, and when he calmly, yet sarcastically questioned what she was having difficulty with, she hesitated to tell him.

He was sat at his desk then, grey eyes boring into her blue ones, as if he could see pass them and into the deep depths of her soul, it unsettled her to say the least. She stood none the less, walking over to him to point out the word, and he had told her, simply and quietly, offering a meaning behind the word, and as soon as she nodded her head, he went back to his work, ignoring her as he always had.

She would have forgotten about it easily, returning to fearing him too much to even look him in the eye for too long, only the same situation repeated itself many times after that, to the point where she had approached him herself. She lay down that night, questioning whether she had lost her sanity, to behave this way with her captive, and abuser was unacceptable. She was growing accustomed to living here, and she shouldn't have been, she reminded herself that at one point she would rather die than spend the rest of her days here.

It was the last incident however, that caused her to think of Bane's words, using them on him. '_Some things are not what they seem' _he had said, and she could not think of a time that these words would be more relevant than they were now. The arrival of new recruits were a young bunch, some even looking to be as young as Vesper, and as she watched the scrawny dark haired boy hop off the back of the truck, she saw the fear in his eyes as Bane approached him.

The boy practically shook in fear of the man, his clothes ragged and baggy on him, he looked as if he had been starved for days, no doubt a homeless. It saddened Vesper, how unfortunate some people were, and as Bane's hand rose she half expected him to end the boy now, only he didn't. Instead his hand came to rest on top of the boys shoulder, not in an intimidating manor, neither did it look painful, and his stance was relaxed, something I hadn't seen in the longest time.

He spoke to the boy, and with every word the boys eyes widened more in wonder, looking to Bane as if he were a God. Bane didn't promise him riches, or a wealthy life or the world, but what he did promise him was something more valuable than that; purpose. He promised that no more would the young boy have to scrounge day by day for food, he promised him that no more would he sleep on a cold floor in an alley way, he promise him that no more would he wonder when his life would end.

It was only then she realised these men followed and obeyed him so blindly, he kept his promises, asking for only loyalty in return. They were promises filled with nothing but truth, promises that upon hearing them you knew for certain were not lies, it was unlike hearing the speech of a political leader, and with Bane you could see the fire and determination to bring those who did not keep their promises to justice.

His next words, words that were said in unison with every man in the warehouse, their eyes alight with something, caused a stir in Vesper's stomach.

"When injustice becomes the law, rebellion becomes a duty."

And for the first time, Vesper found herself wholly believing in something.

That was only weeks ago, and now she stood by the window in Bane's quarters, her arms folded as she looked out of the dirty window that over looked the entire factory floor, dust collected over the many years that this factory had been unoccupied on the sill. It was nearing lunch, and as the men littered themselves around the cots and crates, the small group of women were all huddled in one area, looking as if they were eating quietly.

She saw the mess of red hair upon one woman in the group, and a small surge of excitement ignited within her on recognising Olga within the group, and relief flooded through Vesper with now knowing that she was safe. With her blue eyes she looked back to Bane, quite as ever and working at his desk, pursing her plump lips, she debated in her head whether she should risk speaking.

She had lost track of the months and says since she had been brought here, but she guessed that they were into the New Year now that the snow had subsided a little, still the freezing temperature of Russia was present.

Oddly enough Bane had not touched her since the night she had first fought him off, he hadn't even struck her in violence, he mostly stuck to ignoring her, she wondered why he even still kept her here, for she was of no absolute use to him any longer. As always his actions left her full of questions, questions she knew would receive no answer, and if she ever did she was sure that it would do nothing but raise more questions.

She was fully dressed now, the same dark green knitted jumper that all the men wore was too large for her, only it kept her so warm she was not about to complain, not that she ever would, Vesper never complained to begin with. Mostly due to the fact she had no one to complain to before this, and upon arriving here even the dumbest of people knew that to complain would cost you your life. The slightly baggy combat trousers however, was a new edition to her clothing, she had come back from the bathroom –escorted- and had found it on the dingy mattress.

She looked to the large man now; finally find her voice, although it came out pathetically quiet and small.

"Can I- can I join them … for lunch?"

He was quite for several seconds, his eyes still trained on the blueprints in front of him, before finally looking up at her, grey eyes void of emotion yet so unbelievably terrifying, making Vesper look to the floor. Her breath hitched in her throat as he eventually stood, his boots booming against the worn floorboards as he stalked towards her. The way he moved, when his shoulders were squared and head held high, his eyes solely fixed on what he was heading for, she hadn't seen anything like it before.

She would have referred to him as the Angel of Death, only even that sounded far to angelic for him, too soft, Bane was every form of a natural and manmade disaster in one being, wreaking havoc and causing pain, to whomever he pleased and enjoyed it. The Grimm Reaper; that was who she settled for, still not volatile enough, yet the way in which he held a person's life in the palm of his beast like hands, as if he were the judge of who lived and who did not, that was as close to the Grimm Reaper as he could ever get.

She turned back around to avoid his gaze, yet still felt unbearably exposed as his huge form towered over her, no doubt watching the group of women himself, so close to her small form that she could feel the heat radiating off of him.

"I assumed that you would not care to socialise with common hookers."

Confusion cast over Vesper's face at that, turning back around as he took steps away from her, heading back to his desk.

"Why would I not? They are no different to me," he accented voice became a tone louder, feeling suddenly offended for the women.

"Ah but they are, little one … for they surely experience these happenings on a regular basis."

For the first time since being forced to this location, anger rose through Vesper, directed at the monster in front of her, and her hands balled into fists. His audacity was what angered her the most, for her clearly thought so highly of him self, spoke as if the women here were below his feet, when he clearly came from no wealthy or important background. She had many things to say to him then, one of them being that kidnapping and the forcing of sexual conduct on these women was no were near to what their job required of them, the second being that even so it was not an excuse that should have been used for such a conversation.

Instead, she let out the very last thought on the subject, and the main reason of why it angered her so much, for him to speak of these women as if they were dirt.

"My _mother_ was one of those women who experience those particular happenings on a 'regular basis', you know nothing of the lives these women live, so do not speak so ill of them."

She had regretted opening her mouth as soon as the words had left them, remembering just how painful it had been for her the first time she stepped out of line with Bane. Her blue eyes flashed fearfully, fingers playing with the hem of her jumper out of nervousness as she gauged his reaction.

Strangely enough his eyes didn't darken in anger, nor did the tendons in his tighten as they usually did when he was about to violently struck her, instead he stared at her, his breathing audible through his mask as Vesper stared back quietly.

"Indeed."

It was his only words to her, before he turned to open the rackety door, standing by the frame, silently motioning her forward with nothing but his eyes. It took her off guard, and several moments for her to put herself in motion, it was unlike him to behave as if her burst of anger had not happened, especially as it was directed to him, and was slightly apprehensive as she reached the door.

As he expected he moved, his large hand coming to grab onto her neck, at the base of where it connected with her collarbone. It wasn't a tight hold, nor was it painful, but it held enough force for her to understand who was superior.

"Should you try to repeat your last escape attempt," he said, eyes boring into her own as she had no choice but to look up at him, stomach churning from an unrecognisable feeling, "the same consequences will be guaranteed to repeat … if not graver."

She nodded softly, swallowing the lump that had been forming in her throat, and waited as his grip loosened, to the point where his hand simply rested on the collarbone. The contact caused goose bumps to rise on Vesper's skin, nervousness flitting through her as the hairs on the back of her neck stood. Her stomach lurched, and not out of sickness or fear, but out of slight excitement.

That alone, terrified Vesper.

"Your name, Vesper," Bane mused, as if he were testing out how it sounded as he said it himself, "Latin, is it not?"

Vesper shrugged the slightest bit, her gaze faltering from his and she licked at her dry lips.

"I don't know, my mother liked the name."

He said nothing, removing his hand from Vesper, and taking a step back, and only then did she realise that she had been holding her breath, her skin feeling as if it had been on fire from where his hand lay, and took a soft breath in.

"It translates into evening star."

She nodded at him, although she had no idea why he would chose to tell her, it wasn't anything of significance, least of all to him. He stepped away from her then, walking in silence once more as his heavy boots sounded against the floorboards once more, and returned to his seat. It took Vesper off guard once more, his behaviour scaring her more than anything, for she had no idea of how to react to it, and from the way she _had_ been reacting to it, with the goose bumps of her skin, and the spark inside her, she almost wished he would return to his previous behaviour.

Her trembling hands took hold of the door, shutting it behind her, and made her way down the and towards the staircase. It was in that moment, when her eyes connected with Olga's dark ones in the main room, her face clear of any dirt or smeared make – up she once had, the worries and confusing thoughts of her monster of a captive faded away. For now.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait, I've been busy with real life *shock I have one!* and my other fics as well, this is just a side project for me, so it isn't necessarily a priority. I do however love writing it! **

**PeicesInTheirGames: Hello my dear, lol we are talking on twitter as I write this XD Thank you dear I'm glad you think that, I always get so nervous in whether I'm keeping him in character or not, and there is a slight change here so I'm hoping people are happy with it! **

**Joe: I'm sorry, it is quite brutal, and I wish I could say it will become easier to read but not for a few more chapters, I did leave a warning at the beginning of the story of what would entail. Bane to me, is an extremely brutal, merciless and violent character, she won't need to be whisked away because, sadly enough, she's becoming used to it. **

**GwenLight: Yes an extreme crap face, and yes maybe a LITTLE opening ;) Haha I wouldn't exactly call that kindness, so much so as the "lesser of two evils", and friend zoned? Hhaha he raised Tahlia XD I'm sure he thinks of her as a child of his to protect … well in my eyes anyway! **

**Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed it and thank you for your lovely compliments! It's so nice of you to say! Sorry for the long wait and I hope you liked this chapter! **

**I will continue to write do not worry! And really? Thank you that's very flattering XD Hope you enjoy reading this chapter! **


	8. Wounds

"_I'm So Tired Of Being Here, I'm Suppressed By All My Childish Fears, And If You Have To Leave, I Wish That You Would Just Leave. Your Presence Still Lingers Here And It Won't Leave Me Alone, These Wounds Won't Seem To Heal, This Pain Is Just Too Real, There's Just Too Much That Time Cannot Erase." – Evanescence; My Immortal._

* * *

Olga's dark eyes glassed over as she watched Vesper, crouched next to the young girl in the shower as the stream of water beat down on Vesper's bare skin, and she blinked several times in order to show no weakness in front of the young girl. Knees pulled up to her bare chest, arms wrapped around them as Olga's hands ran through her wet hair, her trousers wet from sitting on the shower floor beside her, only she didn't care, not at this moment anyway.

Things had been fairly good for the both of them, as far as good could be in a place as disturbing as this. Vesper had remained untouched by her captive for several weeks, and even admitted to Olga she had conversed with him somewhat, the girl had finally gotten back some colour to her cheeks that she had lost long ago. The same could have been said for Olga, she was kept relatively clean, and had admitted fairly easily to the younger girl that she wasn't forced against her will.

She considered herself lucky; that she had found somewhat of a companionship with her buyer, the man known as Barsad was more humane that Olga had originally given him credit for, especially seeing as he was Bane's right hand man. The rational voice within the group of mercenary's, what little compassion the men were allowed to show he had, and used whenever he could. Olga admired him for that, thus beginning their illicit love affair.

Though Olga would have barely called him love, she wasn't sure if either of them were capable of such a thing, for he was built for a crime of blood spilling, while her profession caused her to erase and block out such feelings. Nevertheless, she knew was lucky in her situation here, and was not about to complain in the near future.

"Why me?"

Vesper whispered, her voice broken as she sobbed quietly, barely acknowledging Olga's presence, her blue eyes now dead and fixed to the crack tiled walls of the shower room, busted lip stinging as hot water streamed over it.

Olga washed her slowly, carefully, feeling as if the young girl were as fragile as glass, aware that she had already been broken. Anger flooded through her veins as her mind wandered, not just at what had ensued, but at her own incapability of being able to protect the young girl, and to some extent blamed herself.

They had lapsed into a routine, Vesper would be allowed for a certain amount of time a day to join her for lunch, and in that time Olga did her best to make the girl crack a smile. It was intended that that same routine repeat itself on this day, only it hadn't. The factory had been relatively empty that day, for more than half the men had gone off on some form of a supply and weapons run, Bane included, leaving Barsad in charge.

There was always a certain group of men, though Olga would have used the term boys when referring to them, simply because of their arrogance and childishness. Every day Vesper would walk past them, every day they would scream obscene and vulgar things in her direction, and every day Vesper would ignore it, for she knew best than to react to it. She thought that she had some semblance of protection from these men, although she would appreciate not being labelled as Bane's property, that's what she was known as, and knew that none of the men were stupid enough to lay a finger on her.

Only with him gone that particular day, it seemed to loosen the leash that was tied around the remaining men's necks, some would sleep, others play cards or talk in small groups, but these particular set of boys pushed the boundaries.

Olga knew of how appealing Vesper would be to the men, although her small and fragile figure made her appear to be younger than she was, her features were more than tempting, and beneath the bruises and dirt that adorned her face was a very beautiful young girl.

Vesper wouldn't be called modest, for she never had no reason to be, she was simply just unaware of it, she had lived so secluded from any form of attention in that way she would never know of it.

Olga had watched as Vesper walked past them once more that day, how one had followed her to the table as he continued his verbal assault, how he had grabbed onto her hair and pulled her backwards. Olga had watched as some had grabbed onto her arms as she stood to help the girl, how other groups of men had watched and turned their backs, choosing to not involve themselves.

She painfully watched as the group of boys tore at her clothing, laughing as they did so, urging each other on as they destroyed any of the dignity Vesper had left. She fought, she fought harder than she ever had with Bane, and she screamed, spat in their faces even, earning punches that would leave her jaw and nose feeling sore. She never gave in, that was the most difficult thing for Olga to look at, she continued fighting as they took their turns, their laughing never ceasing.

Barsad had come looking for Olga soon after that, and together they carried Vesper to the bathrooms in the lower level, the man courteously waiting on them outside as Olga cleaned her up.

Which led her to now, drying the young girl with a towel as she continued to cry, wrapping it around her tightly, and shushing her as her hands caressed the young girls cheeks. Her heart tore at Vespers whimpers, soft pleas to no longer wishing to be here, to return to whatever home she had before this. She was now broken.

"I'll be right back dear."

Olga left the bathroom then, meeting with Barsad in the hallway, his expression stoic as he handed her a new set of clothing, his had resting on the redheads shoulders as they stared at each other for several moments. Finally he spoke, asking of the young girl's wellbeing, and that Bane would be returning shortly.

She knew of one reason, and one reason only as to why Bane would take some form of action against the men. He was possessive, and possessive men did not like their belongings to be taken or damaged in any shape or form, and for that she knew the men would pay.

"He's going to be furious."

Barsad's dark hair was ruffled; combat clothing creased and crumpled, as if he had just woken from a nap, stubble growing on his chin.

"I hope he breaks them."

Olga's voice cracked at the last word, averting her gaze away from Barsad as she composed herself, inhaling a deep breath from turning back to him. His hand on her shoulder squeezed ever so slightly, offering the only form of comfort he knew, and she gratefully accepted it, knowing that was the best he could give.

Their moment was abruptly interrupted however with the sound of shattering glass, causing Olga to turn on her heel and rush back into the bathroom, the site greeting her caused her mind to go into overdrive and panic slightly. The mirrors and sinks located opposite the toilet cubicles were always dirtied, with cracks running all over them, however the one at the end of the isle had been completely shattered, shards scattered across the broken tiled yellow floor.

In it, amidst all the broken pieces and hunched over herself, sat Vesper, a particularly large shard of mirror gripped tightly in her hand, blood dripping down and onto the floor. She sat in completely silence, eyes distant as tears still streamed down her cheeks, she had numbed herself, or so it appeared as she efficiently cut at her wrist, the blood seeping out like a soft stream.

It was Barsad who had sprung into action, moving past Olga to grab onto Vesper, attempting to delicately pull the broken shard out of her grip, only she didn't make it so easy. She begun to scream then, as if reliving the nightmare she had suffered only hours ago, and fought against him, hands lashing out as he attempted to hold her down.

Olga moved to help him then, gathering herself and wrapping her arms around Vesper, calming the screaming woman while attempting to hold in her own tears, watching as the shard fell from her hands; her still wet skin now stained with her own blood, and as Barsad attempted to stop the bleeding.

"I don't want to be here anymore," she screamed out, feeling the sting on her wrists as Barsad covered them with a spare towel, "just let me die."

It was then that Olga allowed a strained sob to escape her, biting onto her lip hard to keep another from leaving her lips, and her arms tightened around Vesper, intent on not letting her do such a thing.

It was late in the evening when all had quietened down, and back in Bane's quarters Ezerah, Olga and Barsad all occupied the room. Ezerah crouched by the side of Bane's mattress wrapped the now unconscious Vesper's wrists in gauze. The other two standing idly in an awkward silence together, while Bane sat at his desk, elbows propped onto the table and fingers weaved together, his eyes remained closed, and the deathly silence was too unbearable for Olga to stand.

The only audible sounds being the mechanical reverberation of Bane's breathing through his mask, and the soft movement of Ezerah as he finally stood, a crease in his forehead and face grim as he turned to them all.

"She's going to be fine … physically that is."

Olga let out a soft sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing a little, and stepping aside as Ezerah moved past her, both he and Barsad nodding towards each other as he left them. Olga watched Bane out of the corner of her eyes, she had only been in the man's presence a few times, and there wasn't once where she hadn't practically trembled in fear. Until now.

He was always so composed; even when angry the man kept unnaturally calm, and this time around was no exception. The only give away Bane ever had when it came to his emotions were his eyes, and it worked extremely well in his favour, all that was needed was one look, a certain amount of time with his stare directed at a single person, and they would be brought to their knees for him.

But now, even as he eyes solely focused on Vesper's sleeping form, his eyes remained blank, as if he were calculating something within his mind, completely detached from the world around him.

They remained in silence for a long time, and Olga didn't move until Vesper stirred within her sleep, causing the older woman to move towards her, crouching down and settling just on the edge of the mattress. A hesitant hand raised as her fingers softly brushed through her hand, still wet slightly from the shower Olga had given her.

Vesper had broken. It was as simple as that, the girl had constantly lived her life with the thought that no matter how bad it may seem for herself, that there would be someone with far worse circumstances. Only today had completely stripped that belief from her, because she was finally tired of convincing herself that someone else would rather be in her place than their own, she knew she did not deserve, she knew that through all the hardships she had suffered before, that this should not have been one of them.

She was tired, and done with what some would call her pitiful life, she had never achieved anything nor did she have anything worth living for, and the injustice of today had just helped her finalise that.

"They were a group of boys; Olga said they gave her trouble every day."

"Yes," Olga interjected, "but not like this … never like this."

Bane said nothing to the two as he stood, the chair legs scraping against the hardwood floor, and as always the sound of his thick combat boots resonated heavily through the room. Stopping just in front of Vesper's head he stared down, his habit of holding onto the front of his Kevlar vest, watching her as her hand absentmindedly rubbed at an itch on her face. Her hair now completely outgrown from their bangs was left askew all over her face, strands softly blowing off with every breath she let out.

His head cocked to the side ever so slightly, before moving away from her, and walking towards the window. Olga and Barsad watched him as they anticipated his next words, the latter more so, seeing as he had spent several years with the beast of a man, he knew of his extreme patience and fondness to take matters slowly, unless they were dire circumstances.

Bane halted at the very window he had watch Vesper look out of on so many occasions, an overview of the entire factory, and only now did he understand why she looked out of it with such longing. Seeing the men, and women below, share conversations with laughter, some faces alight with amusement, behaving normally, was clearly something she missed dearly. Normalcy.

He turned to the two behind him, his grey eyes glowing with sadistic amusement and solely focusing on Olga, making her blood run cold and rigid to the core.

"Show me."

* * *

**I don't really have much to say in this A/N just that I only got one review for my last chapter If I'm doing something wrong let me know? Anyway Vesper won't be in Russia for much longer, seeing as I have to get along with the story and lead up to Gotham, I'll be writing some chapters of her in Africa, which was vaguely mentioned in the film … that I have seen wayyyy too many times!**

**Shygirl: Thank you! I'm so flattered you think that and I hope it stays a favourite!**


	9. Anything

"_Stripped To The Waist, We Fall Into The River, Cover Your Eyes So You Don't Know The Secret I've Been Trying To Hide. We Held Our Breath To See The Names Written On The Wreck Of '86, That Was The Year I Knew The Panic Was Over, Since We Found Out Anything Could Happen." – Ellie Goulding; Anything Could Happen._

Vesper woke to a painful migraine, and the feeling of being overheated, and as she sat up she pushed down the tidal wave of sheets that were wrapped around her. Softly raising a hand to her forehead, it took her several seconds to realise both wrists were wrapped tightly in bandages. Confusion flooded through her after that, and she had to concentrate in order to remember her recent disaster.

Dread flooded through her then, frightened of the whereabouts of where the particular group of boys may be, and at her own stupidity at her attempt of taking her own life. She had sworn to herself, ever since her mother that she would never such a thing, but she had been on the brink of desperation, her need to stop the constant feeling of fear and pain was too great.

She shook her head at herself, it was no excuse, she thought of the thousands of people who fought for their lives every day, while she smashed her hand into a mirror in order to use a shard to slit at her wrists.

"I did not assume you to be one for suicide, little one."

Her head slowly turned to the doorway of Bane's living space, half expecting him to turn up and startle her in silence; it was after all his speciality, only making sound by choice, when wanting his victim to be aware of his attack as he approached. He stood there now, with his hands gripping onto the front of his Kevlar vest, as his grey eyes watched her intently.

"I'm not."

A sadistic chuckle erupted from his lips at her response, and she averted her eyes back to her wrists, her hands rubbing them softly and pressing down on the bandage, feeling the soreness of her skin below. Despite the cruelty in his laugh, and his piercing gaze, she felt her tightness in her stomach lessen at the sound of his newly found name for her, she didn't know why, but she found herself not despising it.

"My mother took the easy way out, I vowed to never do that … but I did."

"Tried to."

He watched her as her head hung slightly in shame, her hair a curtain around her and successful in hiding her expression. She bit down on her lip, voice quivering slightly as she voiced the question she already knew the answer to.

"What happened to them?"

His reply was quick, and flew out as if it were nothing, so much so that a shiver crawled up her spine, his posture as relaxed as it could be in his Kevlar vest, hands gripping onto the collar as it usually did.

"They were made an example of."

She did nothing but nod towards him, only slowly realising the amount of satisfaction she felt in the thought of what Bane may have possible done to them, and at the fact she felt no guilt in her satisfaction. It was something completely unlike Vesper, she never felt satisfaction in the suffering of others, only before she had no reason to, and even now she thought that she at least deserved to feel it, after all the amount of suffering she had been put through.

She thought then, of how quickly she had changed in the past few months, she spoke out of term much more than any normal would have, especially with a captive as dangerous and condemning as Bane. Also, how she lost her temper so easily, she had always thought of herself to be one of never ending patience, that she could withstand even the most infuriating person.

Somehow, through it all she had completely overlooked the fact that she no longer feared Bane, nor did she like or respect him, her feelings towards him were non-existent. She knew Bane took pleasure in making someone suffer before taking their life, and before than had scared her more than anything, but slowly, with each passing day, she had come to terms with the fact that if he were to do something to her, he would have done so already.

And he hadn't, he neither touched her nor threatened her, he allowed her to tread outside of this pitiful and cold room. He merely watched her, observed as she minded her own business, his gaze was neither threatening nor leering, and instead it seemed as if he would learn as he watched her. Grey eyes always calculating, as if she were a difficult sum to understand and solve.

"I would appreciate it if you readied yourself with the little clothing you have, I expect we should be moving location soon."

He snapped her out her daze, her blue eyes flickering to him softly, watching as he pulled himself away from the position of the doorframe, and standing to his full looming height. Her eyes questioning where they could possibly be going, and with a grunt, he actually graced her with an answer.

"I have no more need to remain in Moscow, and with where we are going I doubt you shall need such thick clothing. Barsad will supply you with something far less suffocating when we arrive."

It would be hot, that was as much as she could gather from his cryptic answer, and as he turned away from her, voicing that her meal would be brought up to her, she sat in the cold room and thought of one thing, and one thing only.

They were leaving this country, most likely never to return, and Bane seemed rather persistent in the fact that she would be joining him. She thought of how so many of the other woman had either been thrown out or disposed of, how there were only a few left, and she could not fathom why she was still here. She did nothing for Bane, no manual labour, nor release of stress that he once forced upon her every night; she sat in his quarters and read, if lucky sometimes conversing with him.

So why would she, of all people, be chosen to be taken along?

That was a question she would never bother voicing, for she knew it would never be granted with an answer. Not one that she understood anyway.

It was several hours later, after a warm meal had been given to her, that she begun to dress, with the clothing she had been given she was rather surprised. They seemed to know of her size perfectly, and even provided her with something she actually liked, whatever supply run they must have went on, it looked to be specifically for clothing.

Olga had been the one to bring her clothing up, a fitted maroon jumper and dark blue jeans had Vesper smiling in the fact that Barsad had been taking good care of her too.

They had supplied Vesper with a sheepskin coat, although it only seemed it was to be used for the time she spent travelling in Russia, and she doubted it would take more than a few days. The black jeans and dark blue shirt fitted her nicely, and they replaced her tattered converse with a simple pair of boots.

She would have thanked Bane if he were present, although he seemed to be occupied with many things in the last few days; she hadn't recalled him sitting at his desk quietly for a while now.

Olga stayed for a while after that, speaking of anything but the previous incident, and Vesper had the idea that maybe Olga didn't want to explain what had happened to the men. Maybe, even for her, what punishment he had brought down on the men was something Olga clearly had no desire to remember, or think about any time soon.

Silence descended upon them when Ezerah stopped by, his ever smiling face lifted her mood slight as he came to change her bandaged wrists. Nausea washed over her as she watched the bandages be pulled off of her skin, blood dried to it, each cut on her wrists were jagged lines, and it was clear she had not been thinking clearly nor truly paying attention to her actions.

Her skin was raw, both cuts running deep, and averted her eyes away from the gruesomeness of it all. Watching as Olga's face grimaced also, clearing her throat at the silence and asking Ezerah random questions, to which he replied after a few moments, his voice distant as he concentrated on his work. Dark eyes fixated on Vesper as he held her wrists delicately, as if she were breakable glass, unable to read her expression the few times he did look at her face.

"We should be leaving soon; they'll send someone up for the both of you when we're ready."

"Oh."

There wasn't much else she could say to that, and with a fresh set a bandages he packed up his kit in silence, parting with an awkward smile to both women.

She hadn't expected all the stares when walking into the main factory floor, all blank yet curious, their gazes on her for seconds at a time before darting away, almost as if they were afraid of being caught.

Of course when Bane entered the room they scattered away, filing out of the warehouse in a hurry, as if they were mice running from a rattle snake. The sound of his combat boots smacking against the concrete floor was heard by all, and I felt his presence behind me as he remained there, hearing every inhale and exhale filter through his mechanical mask.

I tensed for a moment as I felt his large hand rest on my shoulder, and relaxed as he merely nudged me, indicating for me to move forward towards the exit. His hand remained there as I continued through the mass of crates, it were almost as if to make sure I wouldn't attempt to escape again.

Grip firm, on the borderlines of painful, practically a silent warning.

It was only upon reaching the exit, large double doors that slid away, most likely for larger vehicles, that I felt myself on the verge of running. The question of what had happened to the group that had attacked me was obviously one I kept, but I could never begin to imagine what had possibly happened as punishment to them.

To Vesper, it was clear that Bane had not come down on them simply because she had been left broken and traumatised, for a man such as him it was over power. In that sense, despite being so highly intelligent, he behaved like a petulant child, not liking others playing with his belongings. Only the repercussions of such actions was far more than just a whack on the face, for a man who enjoyed inflicting pain it would be far worse than that.

She audibly gasped, shoulders tensing, and just as Bane had predicted she attempted to turn and run. His grip clamped down onto her shoulder painfully, successfully stopping her before she had taken the first step, his mechanical force sounding far more menacing than usual.

"Carful, little one."

Her airways felt as if a hand had clamped down on them, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe, one hand coming to rest on her collar bone as she attempted to calm her laboured breaths.

All four men, who couldn't have been much older than Vesper, hung from the scaffolding above the entrance. Completely bare, skin turning blue from both the cold and the fact that they were no longer breathing, but what furthered the uneasy sickness in Vespers stomach, was the fact that each of their limbs were oddly angled. As if each one had been snapped with Bane's bare hands, eyes gouged out and mouth open, dried blood surrounding the corners of their lips as their tongues had been cut out.

Men flinched the slightest bit as they walked in and out of the entrance, attempting to make it look as if they hadn't noticed the bodies.

Monster monster monster monster

Was the only word the run through her head as she was forced through the door, boots crunching into the snow as she continued on to one of the Jeeps. She didn't know what to think anymore, fear of Bane was an ever present emotion within her, she knew that would never leave.

She wanted to believe, that maybe to some degree, that he had done it simply because of her suffering over the entire ordeal. Only she had no idea who this man was, she had no idea of his intentions; all she had was his actions, both volatile and polite towards her.

"Why?"

She whispered breathlessly, much too quiet for anyone to hear, only he could. He had lived in the pits of hell, covered in darkness, eyes blinded to anything visible with only ears to guide him.

"Contrary to popular belief, little one, my immoralities stop at the injustice of forcing another to perform an act against their will."

For the first time in Vesper's excuse of a life, anger coursed through her veins, granting her the courage to raise her voice for the first time. Causing stares from the other men as she halted in her steps, her hand forcefully attempting to push Bane's hand off of her shoulder.

"That is _exactly_ what you did to me!"

She lashed out, her other hand attempting to hit him in her angered state. Silently she knew that it was futile, far before he even grabbed at it tightly, the other men moving onto to continue loading each truck as Vesper roughly fought against him. She was surprised with herself, for she had never had a violent bone in her body, but this man – monster – had evoked emotions from her she did not think possible.

"I recall you refusing merely once, little one, to which I had abided by your refusal."

"Those other time-"

"You had remained silent."

She was left dumbfounded; he didn't truly believe that did he? His mechanical voice spoke with such conviction that left her unable to respond, you didn't have to verbally refuse in order for the other to know it was not wanted. It was simply just an excuse, albeit a terrible one, but an excuse as to justify himself and his actions.

It was practically impossible for him to ever think she would have been willing, dragged from her home and knocked unconscious, put up as some form of auction.

"That being said … you will not be touched again unless willing."

He let her wrist free, and let it drop to her side once more, before opening the door of the Jeep. Wordlessly she turned away from him, climbing into the backseats of the vehicle as he shut the door behind her.

**Yeah … so I don't really have an excuse for not updating … but I am sorry. I've just not been in the writing vibe when it comes to fanfic, I've been working on an original story. **

**But, thank you for all the favourites, follows, and reviews. They mean a lot, and I am trying to stick to updating regularly! **


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